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Sunday, August 17, 2008

Baseball is summer

I've been enjoying watching the summer Olympics and seeing some incredible performances. Those swimmers, those gymnasts, those runners. And the sports I don't normally watch. How did I miss that trampolining became an Olympic event?

Anyway, the sport that really says summer is baseball. I love watching and I'll admit I usually have the game on the tv while I'm doing other things. I've been a baseball fan for as long as I can remember. So Linda Sue Park's new book certainly brought me back to the good old days before steroids and multi-million dollar babies who demand to be traded then whine that they were traded. Oh well. I still enjoy a good game.

It is 1951 and nine year old Maggie believes she is the biggest Dodgers fan on the block. Sure, just about everyone around is but Maggie lives for the Dodgers. The team is not what you would call a winning team but that could change any time now. Maggie's dad used to be a firefighter at the local station before he got hurt. Even if he isn't at the fire station anymore, Maggie still hangs out with the guys and listens to the games on the radio. When the new fireman joins the crew, Maggie can't believe it -- a Giant's fan!! Jim will just never fit it. Or will he?